Recycling Pickup Lines
University of Maine engineers will work with Saltwater Marketing LLC, an affiliate of the Lobster Institute at UMaine, to develop recycling options for used lobster traplines. The project comes at a time when Maine lobstermen are considering replacing the commonly used ground lines that string traps together in an effort to protect endangered right whales.
The lines are designed to float and thus reduce the chances of snagging on rocks and other obstacles on the sea floor. However, as they hover over the ocean bottom, such lines can present a threat to right whales. Lobstermen are now looking at the possibility of using heavier rope that stays on the sea floor and, therefore, has a lower chance of entangling the whales.
Learn more, here: http://www.umainetoday.umaine.edu/issues/v5i3/insights.html